what's with 'quirky hippie', fatty?

Many years ago, I went to a Bright, Roving, Annoying Teens (BRATs) workshop organized by The Star, Malaysia’s most widely read newspapers. My submission was 2 days late and faxed to the office, and of course I had to pick the farthest campsite – there were 4 workshops held in a year and the one I picked was in Mukah, Sarawak. 5 days away from my parents were a lot of fun so I scouted for more camps to attend. At one point, it was down to OBS and Supercamp so I decided, by the flip of a coin, to do the camp instead of roughing it out with Mother Nature :)

The camp was a turning point. My mum thought I was a lot more different after the camp. She still can’t put a finger to it and if I had to guess, it just seemed like I had a little more life in me. Post camp, I wrote a series of entries for the kind sponsors and the only one that is used to date in many of their marketing collaterals is this.

Shortly after that, I left my (then) sleepy town to study in Limkokwing.

Didn’t walk away with a paper but with a can do attitude, I started stringing for the press and landed my first job in a 2 bit publishing house that is still around to this day, even though the publishing schedule is wayyyyy off track.

Many people tell me I’m random in our conversations, and that I’m a bubbly ball of sunshine to hang with. I don’t suppose it’s relative to my weight but there must be a tiny bit of truth? Right after I started working, I met more interesting people and started the tradition of running away to Perhentian at every chance I could afford – usually for a week or two. This part of my life is a hazy recollection now, and I can’t figure out how I ever got there via the public buses and rickety boats so those of you who’re baddd asses in their early adulthood would know my activities there *wink*

Not too long ago, I spent Happy Hour with some friends whom I haven’t seen in the past 4 to 6 years, and one of them used ‘hippie’ to describe my disappearances circa late 2000s. They knew I was out there, basking in the sun and working to fuel my exile, but that was it. That, coupled with my randomness and weird shit that travels unfiltered from my obscene head to my mouth, needed a flattering descriptive term.

So…

One too many drinks and a crazy bout of insomnia later, thequirkyhippie was born! *pops confetti and guzzles more Umeishu*

sequence of thoughts & tricking out my blog

Having a blog is a wonderful thing. I have all the space in the world to put out my thoughts, and hopefully take some of the ideas here and transform it into a book (if not now, then maybe in my twilight years!).Judging by the stats, the revival of this blog is quiet but I'm pretty sure it will pick up. Since I got back to writing heavily in late 2010 due to work requirements, I've had some feedback and many a chance for improvements. The most common being I don't write in simple prose, and having to simplify the vocab so it would be suitable for an average person.


During the first few months into work, it was utter chaos and having to churn out copies instantly was no mean feat. A lot of times, it was a hit & miss and that is still the case, now. The situtation is picking up but most times, it's about picking the right battle and/or war. 'Too many cooks spoil the broth' rings true here :)

That aside, having to collate my thoughts and putting it into a flow is another hard nut. I'm pretty random so a lot of times, there'd be many spins and takes to a campaign that I tend to run off tangent. To fix this, I've learnt to listen closely when the Managers are talking, decipher it in my own terms and bounce it off them before the meeting adjourns so we're all on the same page. If you think too many cooks spoil the broth, wait till you work in a chinese kitchen with every slanty eyed cook throwing their 2 cents into the pot.

I've begun scribbling keywords onto my trusty notebook and figuring out how the pieces of puzzles fit together in this blog. That, and googling for help to embed videos, music and stuff into this so it's more of an autorun and less clicks for you! It won't be easy so wish me luck?

2009, 2010, 2011, and then some of 2012

For a large part of those years, I spent it wrapping up my stint in Club Med. This was followed by a year long stint running coffeehouses in KL, and moving back into writing - a task which I do pretty well. I might not enjoy the content which I churn out at work but the company's great, money'$ good and it afford$ me little luxuries in life. This blog will be the place I post my 'creative' writings as I reign myself in at work.

I'm largely inspired by Jason Fried's 'Driven too Distraction' article I came across while trolling and I hope you'll find it equally inspiring, too.

An important event this year reignited my love for the arts - I did a 2 week holiday in Bahamas and New York. It was a much needed break as I had to get out of the rut I've been in since early 2011. That holiday, and this, which i chanced upon in Bali during the annual visit to my better half's side of family. I relate to Rubin's writings because it speaks to me at so many levels, and she has so much more to juggle on her plate! When my turn comes, I hope to hold that plate with pride, and when trying times come, I'll re-read her book for a dose of sanity.

The posts which come after this will be in disarray as I recollect my misadventures in the past years. Please bear with me and enjoy the ride as I'm still tweaking the design and stuff.

pixie lott @ KL-Live

I don't care much for local airwaves so the first time I heard about Pixie Lott was in late 2010. Back then, I worked in a coffeehouse and I had this friend who would regale me with her cerekarama of boy-girl drama as she and her housemates were all 'players'.

"Don't hate the players. We're just playing a (sick) game!" she would say :D

On this particular day, she seemed occupied and I knew better than to engage her. Several times that day, her cell would buzz and a haunting melody would play for a few seconds before all was quiet.

When our shifts ended and we were on our way out, we talked like normal and I casually asked her about the song.

That day was the beginning of my infatuation. When I youtube-d her that night, more came along and I was star struck. It didn't strike me odd that a tiny person would be gifted with such a strong, sultry voice but then again, many singers and their roller coaster weight issue did little damage to their talent, so there!

Thanks to the kind people from 8tv, I had a couple of complimentary passes and Donkey was surprisingly keen to catch some of the action, too!

When we arrived at KL-Live, there was already a long line spilling onto tar as everyone were orderly awaiting their entry to the hall. It was free standing with the upper decks reserved for media, VIPs and the likes. By the time it got to our turn, the hall was filled with screaming teens and the occasional salt & pepper head.

As luck would have it, the marshals opened up a new section and Donkey hurried me in that direction. We stopped moving once we got to a spot as he figured it'd be our best bet seeing that the hall was filled to the brim by then. Only pockets of space far behind the crowd were available and we didn't want to risk it.

Here're some pics from last night.

Beautiful, beautiful girl blessed with an awesome, distinct voice. I'll think about this showcase often!

postcard #1

Taken at the junction of Jalan Dang Wangi and Jalan Sultan Ismail after supper.

I live in a beautiful city *beams*

- I'm tripping to Rochelle Diamante -